1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to the field of dispensers of goods, and in particular to a holder for mounting and dispensing rolled materials.
2. Background
Holders are known in the art for holding rolls of materials; for example, paper towels, toilet paper, wax paper, sheets of aluminum foil, webs of plastic for wrapping food, and the like. A rolled material holder in the prior art typically includes a mounting plate with screw holes or other devices for mounting the holder to a surface; for example, a wall or the underside of a kitchen cabinet. Side frame members extend from the mounting plate and include respective arms which engage openings in a cylindrical core about which the material is rolled. The arms hold the roll between the side frame members and allow rotation of the roll and its material to dispense the material from the roll. Contacting surfaces of the arms may be smooth and/or curved to reduce friction in the rotation of the roll to facilitate the dispensing of the material off of the roll held by the arms.
In some prior art rolled material holders, the side frame members are pivotable to increase the separation of the side frame members for insertion of new rolls of material and replacement of spent rolls. In other prior art rolled material holders, the arms are positioned in cavities in the side frame members. The arms are pivotal so that each arm may be moved from an initial position to be recessed within its cavity in a pivoted position. By pivoting the arms, the spacing between the arms is increased to allow a new roll of material to be inserted and/or spent rolls to be replaced. The arms may then pivot back to the initial position to hold a new roll of material.
The construction of these rolled material holders in the prior art limits their orientation. For example, the holder is specifically oriented in a predetermined configuration to have the side frame members in a horizontal position, and especially with the contacting surfaces of the arms positioned upward so that a roll of material may be positioned upon the contacting surfaces with less resistance to rolling. One can install the holder in any other orientation, for example, horizontally but upside-down relative to the predetermined orientation or vertically with the mounting plate flush against the underside of, for example, a kitchen cabinet. These deviations from the predetermined orientation of the holder will have the contacting surfaces oriented differently, and the roll of material will not properly contact the contacting surfaces for ease of dispensing of the material. The prior art rolled material holders have limited orientation, and so installers and users are limited in their choice of the position and orientation of the holders for users to dispense and receive the rolled material.